Clown lovers, beware, the newest adaptation of Stephen King's classic horror tale It is not doing the real-life performers any favors. In It, Pennywise the Clown rises again to terrorize a small town and reclaim the title of most terrifying clown ever. Fans of the original book as well as the 1990 television adaptation know how Pennywise's story ends, but the new It post-credits tease will still come as a surprise. While an actual It post-credits scene doesn't exist, there is a slight tease at the very end of the credits that hints at the possibility of a chilling follow-up to the movie. Spoilers ahead.
At the end of It, Pennywise appears to be defeated. When the kids he chases unite and refuse to be afraid of him, the creature that feeds off of fear slinks back into the shadows defeated. At least, it seems defeated. Fans of the story know that the creature known as "It" is a shapeshifting monster that returns to prey on children every 27 years. So is Pennywise dead, or did he simply disappear to plan his return? This film uses a few credits inserts to suggest the later. The film ends with an ominous title card that reads "IT: chapter one," an obvious hint that another chapter could be coming. Even more sinister, however, is the post-credits tease (not quite a post-credits scene) that comes at the very end of the credits: the sound of Pennywise's laughter.
I think we can all agree that there is no real need for an It post-credits scene when Pennywise is laughing in the distance, but, it doesn't really give away much in terms of a potential sequel. Luckily, Pennywise himself, Bill Skarsgard, hinted at what could be in store for Chapter 2.
"It's a different story, but I'm excited to delve in deeper to the character as there's more exploration for who Pennywise is," Skarsgard revealed in an interview with Metro UK. The actor hopes that a sequel will explore "It" the shapeshifting creature, as opposed to the "It" who enjoys taking the form of Pennywise the clown. "That's where I want to go for the second one, to delve into the psychological and metaphysical spaces of this transdimensional being," he said.
The ambiguous post-credits tease works perfectly to set up a deeper exploration of "It" in future films. Or, at the very least, it will certainly help give audiences nightmares for weeks after seeing the movie, so mission accomplished.
